


A Puppy, Some "Sugar," and One Mouthy Wolf

by Perpetual Motion (perpetfic)



Category: due South
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-21
Updated: 2012-10-21
Packaged: 2017-11-16 18:08:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/542323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/perpetfic/pseuds/Perpetual%20Motion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fluff and puppy. That's it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Puppy, Some "Sugar," and One Mouthy Wolf

The puppy was black with three white feet, and it met Ray at the door of Fraser's apartment in a whirl of clicking claws and happy yelp. Ray stared at the dog as it sat at his feet and wriggled from its nose to its tail. "Fraser, where'd you get the mutt?" The puppy gave another yelp, this one sounding a little indignant, and jumped for Ray's pant leg.

"He's not mine, Ray." Fraser walked into the kitchen in jeans and a dark green sweater. Diefenbaker was close at his heels. "He's Diefenbaker's."

Ray, in the midst of scooping up the puppy, froze. "What?"

"He's Diefenbaker's charge, Ray."

"Wait a sec." Ray scooped up the puppy before it could make another lunge for his jeans. "You're tellin' me you got the dog a _dog_?" Diefenbaker gave a disapproving snort. "'Scuse me. You got the _wolf_ ," Diefenbaker gave an approving growl, "a _puppy_?"

Fraser nodded. "Yes, Ray. Diefenbaker was quite insistent, and I didn't have the heart to say no. The poor thing was left in the box in front of the market. I couldn't leave it there. It's very cold right now. He would have frozen to death."

Ray couldn't argue with that. The walk from his car to Fraser's front door had nearly lost him his nose. "Okay. Greatness. You rescued a puppy." The puppy yipped and licked Ray's chin. "But how's that make him Dief's?"

"Well, Diefenbaker was the one to find him, and he was the one to carry him home. He's also insisting to take care of him himself. So, the puppy is Diefenbaker's."

The puppy in question started wriggling in Ray's hands and managed to get loose. Ray watched as it landed on its stomach on the kitchen floor. Dief's growl was borderline dangerous. "Hey, I didn't do that." Ray squatted down and scratched the puppy behind the ears as it regained its feet. "Puppy's fall. It happens." Dief gave another growl and Ray gave him a stern look. "Stop that. You know I wouldn't hurt him." He picked up the puppy and held it out to Dief. "See? He's fine."

Dief sniffed the puppy, gave Ray a dirty look, and took the puppy out of Ray's hands with his mouth. He carried it out of sight around the side of the couch. Ray shook his hand and stood up from his squat. "Your wolf is weird," he said to Fraser.

"Well, he's hardly mine, Ray. He simply keeps me company." Fraser turned from the soup pot on the stove and kissed Ray on the mouth. "Hello, by the way."

Ray grinned and returned the kiss. "Hey." He peeled off his coat and hung it on the hook by the door. "I can't believe you got talked into a dog."

"I was hardly talked into it, Ray. The puppy was alone in a wet cardboard box with a filthy blanket. It was only humane to take him in."

"Yeah. Sure." Ray tried to glance around the couch to get another look at the puppy but all he could see was the tip of a black tail. "You named it yet?"

"No. Diefenbaker insists that he should name it since it's his puppy, and I thought it was a sound idea."

"Frase, you've given your _wolf_ a _puppy_. I don't think you can _recognize_ a sound idea."

"Well, Ray, that's quite unfair." Fraser reached up into the cupboard and pulled down two bowls. He handed them to Ray, who dutifully set them on the table. "Diefenbaker is a very responsible wolf. He saved my life if you'll recall, and he's saved your life a few times as well."

"Jumpin' on a guy with a gun and keepin' up with a puppy ain't the same thing." Ray sat at the table and let Fraser ladle soup into his bowl. "We're talkin' a _puppy_ that's gonna need to be walked and fed and watered. You know what a pooper scooper is, Frase?"

"I am very well aware of the function of a pooper scooper, Ray." Fraser gave Ray a slightly exasperated look. "I am also aware that it will be my responsibility to guarantee that the puppy is fed and watered and walked. Diefenbaker's job will be to teach him how to behave."

"What? You Canadians don't train your own dogs?"

"When they are our dogs, yes. But as I've already-"

Ray waved off Fraser's explanation. "Yeah. Yeah. I know. Dief's dog." He shook his head. "You know, you're supposed to get a puppy for your kid, not your wolf."

"But I have no children."

"Except Dief."

"Diefen-"

"Frase, you're the one who says he acts childish."

"Perhaps." Fraser put the soup pot back on the stove and sat across from Ray. "But it by no means makes him a child."

"Nah. Just makes him a wolf with a puppy."

Fraser rolled his eyes and tasted his soup, deliberately not responding to Ray's teasing. Ray took the hint and settled into his own meal. He was halfway through his soup when he spoke again. "Just promise me you won't name it Fido or Spot or Socks or Bandit."

"His name is not my choice, Ray. You'll have to take up your concerns with Diefenbaker."

Ray sighed. "Of course." He turned in his chair and spotted Dief's ears poking up from behind the arm of the couch. He stamped his foot once, and Dief's head popped into view. "C'mere, Dief. We gotta talk. Bring the pup." Diefenbaker looked ready to ignore him. Ray gave Diefenbaker a stern look. "Now." 

Diefenbaker picked up the puppy by the scruff of its neck and carried it over to Ray. Ray took the puppy from Diefenbaker's mouth and settled it on his lap. "Now, I'm only sayin' this once, so you'd better listen. Frase and I are trustin' you to be good and take care of this puppy. You ain't namin' him any stupid names, and if you know you should be takin' care of him, then you'd better be takin' care of him. We clear?" Diefenbaker gave a small whine in understanding and nosed the puppy. "All right." Ray held out the puppy and let Diefenbaker take him. "But he'd best have a name by tomorrow night, all right? I don't wanna call him 'puppy.'" Dief gave another affirmative whine and walked back to the couch. Ray turned back to his soup and found Fraser grinning at him. "What?"

"I believe I just got a glimpse of you as a father, Ray."

"A puppy ain't a kid, Frase."

"Of course not, but there are similar protective tendencies associated with both." Fraser walked over to the sink and rinsed out his bowl. He lifted the kettle off of the burner and poured hot water into a glass before dropping in a tea bag and turning around to hand it to Ray. "Dandelion root is good for digestion." 

"I still say there's nothin' wrong with coffee." 

“You agreed to try to be a bit healthier in your habits, Ray." Fraser reminded him, tone just the other side of sharp.

“Don’t talk like I’m tryin’ to pick a fight. Coffee and me are old buddies. I’ve just got to defend its honor.” Ray added a healthy dose of sugar to his tea when Fraser's back was turned and tried to switch the conversation back to less touchy topics. "And I'm not bein' overprotective of the puppy. I just want Dief to know that we expect him to be responsible."

"Diefenbaker is very responsible. You know that as well as I."

"Responsible for the missin' donuts in the break room, sure, but you can't eat a puppy." 

"Actually, in some cultures-"

"Frase?"

"Yes?"

"That's not so good for the digestion." 

"Of course, Ray." Fraser smiled as he wet a dishcloth and walked over to wipe down the table. He eyed the small scattering of sugar near the sugar bowl and gave Ray a stern look. “Dandelion root tea is perfectly acceptable without sugar.”

“Only up in the Territories where you gotta hike for it, Frase.” Ray took a sip of his tea while Fraser narrowed his eyes. “The stuff’s good for me whether I put sugar in it or not. I’m drinkin’ it at least, right?”

“It’s cheating, Ray.”

“Is not. Cheatin’ would be dumpin’ it down the drain when your back’s turned, but I don’t do that.” 

“You’ve considered dumping the tea down the drain?”

Ray’s eyes widened at Fraser’s tone. “Are you about to get pissed over tea?”

“You agreed-“ 

“Frase, I’m really not about to have a fight with you about _tea_.”

“If you dislike it so much you merely could have said something.”

“And gotten a full-out Fraser hissy fit? I don’t think-“ Ray was cut off when Diefenbaker let out a sharp bark. Both he and Fraser looked into the living room. Dief was standing very still and looking back and forth between the two of them. “What’s up, Dief?” Diefenbaker barked twice and made a sound that was halfway between a mumble and a growl. Ray looked at Fraser. “Translation?” 

“He thinks,” Fraser shook his head, obviously not believing what he was hearing. “He thinks our fighting is disturbing the puppy.” 

“What?”

“He thinks-“

“I heard you.” Ray stood up, walked across the living room, and stood over Dief. The puppy was curled up in a ball under Dief’s legs and looked to be sleeping. “Doesn’t look like he’s bothered.” 

Fraser interpreted Dief’s grumbling growl. “He says that we’ll give the puppy nightmares.”

Ray rubbed a hand over his face and squatted down so that he and Dief could talk face-to-face. “We’re not fightin’. We’re discussin’.”

“He says it sounds like fighting.”

“It ain’t. He’s makin’ me drink tea.”

“I’m not _making_ you do anything, Ray.” Fraser’s tone was indignant. “ _You_ were the one who first mentioned wanting to improve your eating habits. I was merely offering assistance.”

Ray completely ignored the outburst and gave Dief a long-suffering look. “It’s dandelion root.” Dief’s whine of sympathy needed no translation. “And we’re discussin’ the value of it with or without sugar. But it ain’t a fight, all right?” Dief cocked his head at Ray, looked at Fraser, then turned around and curled up around the puppy. “All right, then.” Ray stood up and gave Fraser a once-over. He walked across the room, threw back the rest of his tea in one gulp, and clunked the mug back on the table.

“That’s not the point, Ray.”

“You’re right about the eatin’ habits, Frase, but I don’t work without sugar, got it?” Ray pointed a finger at the sugar bowl. “And I know that ain’t real sugar anyway.”

“Of course it is, Ray.”

“Frase, you’re bluffin’ a sugar expert, here, and you’re doin’ a bad job.” Ray smiled a little when Fraser looked down at his feet in embarrassment. “We done with this conversation?”

“Yes, Ray.”

“You gonna let me abuse the fake sugar without givin’ me a hard time?”

“Yes, Ray.”

Ray gave Fraser a full-out grin. “Greatness.” Fraser looked at Ray with his chin tilted down, and Ray’s grin turned predatory. “Now get over here and apologize.” Ray saw the half-smile that Fraser tried to hide and grabbed him by the front of his shirt when he took a step forward. Fraser’s momentum, plus Ray’s tug, sent them backwards until Ray’s back his the wall. Ray ‘oofed’ but held onto Fraser’s shirt to keep him from checking the damage. “I’m fine, Frase. Keep focused here.” When Fraser kissed him softly and sweetly and teasingly on the mouth, Ray smiled into it. “That’s it,” he murmured as Fraser pulled away, took a deep breath, and dove back in again. Ray got his fingers into Fraser’s hair and rocked his hips forward. Fraser’s hands curled around his hips and urged him forward again. Dief’s bark interrupted them, and they pulled apart with a mutual sound of impatience.

“Yes, Diefenbaker?” Fraser raised a hand and clamped it over the one Ray was using to stroke the hairs on the back of his neck. His eyes never left Diefenbaker who was making noises that were obviously displeased even to Ray. “I beg your pardon?” Fraser’s eyebrows rose as Diefenbaker made the same set of noises again. “We are _not_.”

“Frase, I don’t speak wolf.”

“He thinks that our behavior is inappropriate.”

Ray’s eyebrows shot up. “Excuse me?”

“He thinks that our flagrant display of affection is going to make the puppy uncomfortable.”

“Frase, I’m not gonna stop makin’ out with you in the kitchen because the _puppy_ might get offended. I don’t stop makin’ out with your when _people_ might get offended.”

“Actually, Ray, there was that time at the Con-“

“Frase, not the point.”

Fraser nodded. “Of course not, Ray.” He looked at Diefenbaker again. “This is our home, Diefenbaker. We are allowed to do as we please.” His brow furrowed at Diefenbaker’s answer. “Those two things are in no way related.”

“Frase?”

“Oh, yes, Ray. Sorry. He says that it’d be like having relations in front of a small child.”

“It’s a _puppy_.”

”I know, Ray.”

“Most dogs stare at people when they have sex.” Ray didn’t need Fraser’s skills to interpret the low growl from Diefenbaker. “And I know you’re a wolf, Dief. I was talkin’ about the _puppy_.”

“He doesn’t think it matters.”

“Frase?”

“Yes, Ray?”

“I wanna have sex. I wanna have it now.”

“Of course, Ray, but we really should-“

“Frase, just this once, I’m gonna listen to the crazy that you and the wolf are spewing, and I’m gonna go to the bedroom, where we can shut the door and be left alone by the crazy wolf. But tomorrow, after the sex, and the sleep, and the fake sugar in my coffee, we’re gonna sit down and explain to Dief and that puppy that they’re just gonna have to hide their eyes if we have sex in the kitchen, all right?”

“Well, Ray, I think that if you feel so-“ Fraser was cut off when Ray pulled his head forward and kissed him hard and wet with a demanding tongue that practically fucked his mouth. When Ray pulled away, Fraser’s eyes were a little glazed. “The bedroom, you said?”

“Yeah, Frase, the bedroom.”

“All right.”

Ray followed Fraser down the hall, pausing to stick his tongue out at Dief on the way. He didn't need a translator for the low bark that Dief threw at his back, and he flipped him the bird as he shut the bedroom door. If a fight about sugar couldn't keep him from sex, neither could a mouthy wolf. No way. No how.


End file.
